A Massachusetts man who plotted to kidnap, torture and eat children faces at least 27 years in prison, federal prosecutors said in court documents.

According to the Boston Herald, Geoffrey Portway, 40, pled guilty in May to multiple charges, including plotting to kidnap a child and distribution and possession of child pornography.

The seriousness of the crimes was underscored in a grim series of photographs released by authorities. Portway constructed a sound-proof basement in his Worcester home, complete with a steel cage, a child-size coffin equipped with restraints, a set of butcher knives, handcuffs, castration tools, a steel table top and two freezers.

“Portway has pled guilty to some of the most vile and heinous crimes known to our society, namely participating in the sexual exploitation of young children through the possession and distribution of child pornography and soliciting the kidnapping of a child for the purpose of killing and consuming that child,” the court documents said.

As the Boston Herald reports, the court documents also revealed several disturbing online chats Portway had with another conspirator, Ronald Brown. The two discussed kidnapping children, eating their bodies and feeding the “leftovers” to alligators. “just need to open a mortuary,” Portway wrote. “Any boy who is scheduled to be cremated, dissapears (sic). fake ashes given.”

“Clearly, the facts of this case were quite disturbing and we are grateful law enforcement acted when they did," United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz said, according to the Daily Telegraph. “I hope that this case sends a clear message that we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who participate in these types of activities. Even though criminals attempt to hide in the anonymity provided by the Internet, the Department of Justice is committed to aggressively pursuing them to ensure that there is no place to hide.”

According to the Boston Herald, federal authorities began investigating Portway in 2012 after he was discovered in an online chat room devoted to child pornography, child rape and cannibalism.